U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Virginia arrested multiple repeat criminal offenders who were previously released under Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies, highlighting what officials describe as the dangerous consequences of ignoring federal immigration detainers.
Among those taken into custody is Jorge Armando Melendez-Gonzalez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador who has been arrested 10 times and charged with 19 different crimes since 2018. ICE said Melendez-Gonzalez’s record includes malicious shooting, unlawful wounding, assault, grand larceny, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Despite his history of violence, Fairfax County officials twice refused to honor ICE detainers lodged in 2023 and 2025, allowing him to walk free each time. “Thanks to the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement, this serial violent criminal with 10 previous arrests is now off of Virginia’s streets,” said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin. “Virginia sanctuary politicians protected this criminal illegal alien and allowed him to terrorize American citizens. These sanctuary policies make Virginians less safe.”
Melendez-Gonzalez originally entered the U.S. illegally in 2015 and was ordered removed by an immigration judge the following year. ICE confirmed that despite this order, he remained in the country and continued to reoffend.
In a separate case, ICE Washington recently arrested Elvin Humberto Madrigal-Calero, a 33-year-old criminal alien from Nicaragua convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Pulaski County, Virginia. Madrigal-Calero was sentenced to 10 years in prison, yet remained in the U.S. unlawfully before his arrest by ICE agents.
The arrests underscore ICE’s ongoing enforcement operations under President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who have emphasized restoring law and order and ensuring local jurisdictions cooperate with federal authorities. Officials say sanctuary policies—which prevent local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers—continue to endanger communities by allowing dangerous individuals back onto the streets.
“These cases show exactly why cooperation between ICE and local agencies is critical to protecting American lives,” McLaughlin said. “Every time a jurisdiction refuses to honor a detainer, it gives violent offenders another chance to victimize innocent people.”
ICE said both men are now in federal custody and will remain detained pending removal from the United States.
